I live in Los Angeles and I'm lucky enough to write about the thing I love most: movies. I'm a graduate of Vassar College and Northwestern University and for 15 years I worked at Forbes mostly covering the entertainment industry. Although I've moved into the world of corporate journalism, I still contribute blog posts here.

The Social Networking Lives Of The Dead Celebrities

Just because a celebrity is dead doesn’t mean he can’t tweet. Just look at Michael Jackson. The pop star (who earned $140 million in the last 12 months) has 884,000 followers on Twitter, where he has sent out 572 tweets, including, “RETWEET if you’re bad! #whosbad.”

Obviously it’s not Michael Jackson sending out these tweets. The singer passed away in 2009 at the age of 50.

But the people who manage the estates of dead celebrities have realized that if you want to keep your star relevant, it helps to have a social-networking presence. A surprising number of the stars we looked at for this year’s top-earning dead celebrities list have active online social lives.

We turned to Starcount, a Singapore-based firm that tracks social networks, to help compile a list of the dead celebrities with the biggest social networking footprints. Starcount tracks 11 social networks around that world. Of course Twitter and Facebook are in there but they also look at sites like Renren and Orkut.

Michael Jackson tops our list of the Most Social Dead Celebrities. Jackson’s biggest presence is on YouTube, where his channel has attracted 1 billion hits. The most popular video on the site is for “Thriller“, the short film Jackson made in 1983 with director John Landis.

But Jackson’s team also uses the site to promote new Jackson projects like Bad25, a reissue of Jackson’s iconic Bad album. The release will coincide with a documentary about the album from director Spike Lee which will air on ABC Thanksgiving night.

Living stars need to use social networks to keep in touch with fans. Stars like Justin Bieber, Kim Kardashian and Lady Gaga have shown how powerful it can be to have fans feel like they are friends with a celebrity.

It’s a slightly different story for dead celebrities. It would be extremely weird if a dead celebrity replied to a fan’s tweet or Facebook posting. Instead, the estates use the sites mostly to keep fans up to date on any new products and to give fans a place to interact.

“A few years ago, it was rare for deceased stars to have official presences on social networks,” says Daniel Dearlove, head of data at Starcount. “The accounts can serve as communities for fans of the dead star.”

On Tupac Shakur’s Facebook page, for example, there are images of Shakur murals from around the world submitted by fans. The site recently shared a photo by Abdul Kashem of a mural in Birmingham, England, of Shakur’s face. It attracted 1,000 shares and 57 comments.

Shakur ranks third on our list of the Most Social Dead Celebrities. Like many of the musicians on our list, Shakur is most active on YouTube where his channel attracts more than 100,000 hits per day. The channel has been viewed 39 million times.

Musicians do well on our list because fans can watch their videos and listen to their music through their fan sites. Ranking second in between Jackson and Shakur is Bob Marley. The reggae singer is having a resurgence thanks to a marketing push from his estate, which now sells a Marley-branded “relaxation” drink, as well as Marley headphones, speakers and bags.

The singer has 41 million fans on Facebook and is the most popular reggae star, living or dead, on social networks, according to Starcount.

John Lennon ranks fourth on our list. The singer’s YouTube channel has been viewed 21.9 million times. Yoko Ono recently put up a video thanking fans for their devotion to Lennon on what would have been his 70th birthday. Fans can also watch videos of Lennon’s music on the site.

Rounding out the top five is Elvis Presley. The King has legions of passionate fans who can read about his new music on his Facebook page. And no, that’s not a mistake. Presley is featured in a duet of “If I Can Dream” with Celine Dion on the Canadian singer’s latest album, which hits stores this week.

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As has been noted repeatedly, Michael Jackson has the most loyal, organized, powerful and probably the most vociferous fans on the planet. His loss has brought them even more together and to the forefront and that’s not going to change.

It’s not Michael Jackson on Twitter, we all know it, you do not need to point out at all! And in any case he never used Twitter or any other social network personally. However, have some respect, moron!

MICHAEL JACKSON FANS! Please share the truth about Michael Jackson… Long live the King!

By popular demand, the second edition of Defending A King ~ His Life & Legacy by Dr. Karen Moriarty is now available to every country in the world from Outskirts Press. See www.defendingaking.com for full information & options to order.

Earning 5-star reviews, Defending A King ~ His Life & Legacy was originally released in December 2011. Michael Jackson’s global reach and huge fan base have prompted this updated paperback edition and ebook & iPad formats. The book can be ordered from Amazon and Barnes & Noble as well as elsewhere online.

The only comprehensive, in-depth portrayal of Michael Jackson that reveals the details of his last four mysterious years, Defending A King ~ His Life & Legacy discloses new information and unique insights into this “king of a man.” People who really knew the private Michael and who love him are the primary contributors to this book.

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